People spend millions of dollars on fortune-telling, psychics, and and horoscopes. But I’ve found a free, simple way to get a peek into your future:

Introduce me to your five closest friends.

Show me your five closest friends and I’ll show you your future. Who you allow to speak into your life is who you will become.(tweet this) The voices we listen closest to determine the future we will live out.

There are certain Biblical passages and phrases that we tend to associate mainly with romantic relationships. Passages like 2 Corinthians 6:14 – “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?” or Proverbs 4:23 – “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.”

Neither of those verses are found in the context of passages about romantic relationships though. The context really is about any relationship or situation in life that involves deep influence.

Who you are friends with matters.

Admittedly, some Christians get weird about hanging out with people who are not Christians. Some even get weird about being with people from different denominations or churches. Here are a couple things to consider…

How else will they hear?

In Romans 10, Paul asks the question, “how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard?” I’ve heard it said that you may be the only Bible your non-Christian friend ever reads. But the goal would be for it to not stop there. The goal through any relationship is for people to glorify God because of what He has done in you! How will anyone who needs Jesus hear about Him if we withdraw from them?

God befriended you, so…

God is our example when it comes to befriending sinful, selfish people. After all, He befriended you and I! So if we follow His example, we should love, embrace, and befriend anyone and everyone who comes our way. Accepting someone doesn’t mean you’re condoning their sin. God loves you in your sin but that doesn’t mean He wanted you to stay in your sin.

Who is under the influence?

In any relationship, it’s important to constantly be considering influence. Who is doing the influencing and who is being influenced in the relationship? Yeah, Jesus was a “friend of sinners,” but He wasn’t the one changing – the other people were! Being a “friend of sinners” isn’t a justification for you to live in sin; it’s an opportunity for you to extend the same love and kindness to others that God has extended to you.

Winsome to win some.

If you are “winsome,” it means you are “attractive or appealing in appearance or character.” Our goal is to be winsome in order to win some to Christ.(tweet this)